With funding from NC IOLTA, attorneys Amelia Bryn Cooper and Taylor Norton provide free legal services to individuals and families in historically underserved Eastern NC counties — ensuring that cost is not a barrier to support and guidance in divorce, child custody, domestic violence and other family law matters.
Meet Inner Banks Legal Services’ Family Law Fellows
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Inner Banks Legal Services was founded in 2017 by attorney Sarah Beth Withers to bridge the justice gap in Eastern North Carolina. A 501(c)(3) not-for-profit law firm, Inner Banks offers sliding-scale services in six Eastern North Carolina counties where approximately 22.1% of the population lives in poverty.
Identifying a need for increased family law services for low-income residents in Beaufort, Martin, Hyde, Washington and Tyrrell counties, which historically have limited legal aid resources, in 2023 Withers applied for NC IOLTA funding that would grow the firm’s capacity to serve clients in family law there at no cost. The resulting multiyear grant has brought attorneys Amelia Bryn Cooper and Taylor Norton to Inner Banks as Family Law Fellows.
Inner Banks Legal Services offers sliding-scale services in six Eastern NC counties where approximately 22.1% of the population lives in poverty and legal aid resources have historically been limited — including three counties that are legal deserts.
During the first year of the fellowship, Cooper and Norton delivered more than 630 hours of free legal services in matters including adoption, custody, separation or divorce, equitable distribution of assets and domestic-violence protective orders. They conducted 269 one-hour consultations that included follow-up counsel and advice. Of those individuals, 58 received full representation — which, based on the average legal rate of $300 per hour, would have come to approximately $2,200 per person — at no cost.
“NC IOLTA’s funding has been essential in enabling IBLS to expand legal services to low-income families in [these counties],” Withers noted.
Here, learn more about Cooper and Norton — and why eliminating financial barriers to quality family law services in these communities is so important.
“Very drawn to the law aspect of advocacy”: Amelia Bryn Cooper
Family Law Fellow Amelia Bryn Cooper said she “got into law because of family law.”
“Originally, I thought I might be a social worker or a child advocate,” she said, noting that her undergraduate majors were criminal justice and psychology. “But during an internship in college, I realized I was very drawn to the law aspect of advocacy.”
Amelia Bryn Cooper
Once Cooper was enrolled at the Charleston School of Law, another internship — at Charleston Pro Bono Legal Services, which provides legal aid free of charge — provided another essential insight: “I realized I wanted to work in a nonprofit firm, and especially in family law, to really help people. From my own personal experience in family court, I have seen firsthand how difficult custody and divorce situations can be. It has given me a clearer understanding of what families need during such a pivotal and sensitive transition in their lives.”
Having this opportunity to work in family law at Inner Banks, she said, makes that goal possible. That Cooper’s services are available free of charge “means a lot” to the people in the counties Inner Banks serves.
“So many working-class people come to us in a tight spot, not knowing where to go or what to do” in their divorce, custody or guardianship cases, she noted. Such cases are often time sensitive, and, as many areas of Eastern NC are experiencing a shortage of attorneys overall, “people who can’t pay can get stuck. We’re able to offer them free services, thanks to the NC IOLTA grant, or lower, reasonable fees.”
Cooper noted that, while she grew up in Raleigh, living in Eastern NC has allowed her to be close to extended family members living in Snow Hill. She has enjoyed other aspects of living in a small town as well.
“I really love working in a smaller community — although it can be surprising to run into clients or opposing counsel at the grocery store when I’m wearing my pajamas!” she said with a laugh. “Sometimes new clients are referred to us by family or friends we’ve worked with before, which feels good to me. I also like that we partner with other community organizations to provide a fuller network of support.”
“It’s a great opportunity,” she concluded. “I wouldn’t want to work anywhere else.”
“Passionate” about providing affordable legal services in rural areas: Taylor Norton
Taylor Norton was inspired to pursue family law during a yearlong fellowship with UNC School of Government’s Lead for North Carolina program.
Norton said she had “considered the possibility of law school” as she approached graduation from NC State with a major in political science and minor in ethics, “but I wanted to use that gap year to be sure.”
Taylor Norton
As she worked on zoning issues for the municipal government in the Eastern NC town of Washington, she saw the impact that big-market quotes for services could have on small towns’ budget priorities — and began to consider how lower-income residents in the region would be similarly challenged by the cost of private legal services.
“With civil law you’re not entitled to a lawyer. [The court process] can be overwhelming, particularly during what is already a hard time in your life,” she said. “I realized providing affordable legal services in rural communities was an area I was passionate about.”
Following graduation from Campbell Law School and a move to New Bern, Norton joined Inner Banks as a Family Law Fellow.
“The firm’s impact [through its sliding-scale services] inspired me,” Norton said. “In the practice of family law, people are trusting you with something precious. Being able to help our clients, to gain their trust and be a source of support in a court case, has been really meaningful.”
She added that she “loves” living in a smaller town.
“It’s a tight-knit community where you can build strong bonds,” she explained. “And I’ve worked alongside some really amazing lawyers. … I have learned so much, and I don’t know if I would have had this kind of community in a larger city.”
Norton said she is proud of the work the NC IOLTA grant has made possible.
“I don’t know if I can adequately express how grateful clients are to have access to free quality legal services,” she said. “Some ask, at the conclusion of their case, if they can donate to Inner Banks to help people in need in the future. They say, ‘I want to be part of something that builds our community and helps others’ — even if they don’t know them.”
Read more about the impact of NC IOLTA’s funding of the Family Law Fellows program in our story, “I Was All They Knew”: A Grandmother’s Determination to Ensure Stability for the Children in Her Care. Learn more about Inner Banks Legal Services on their website.
Legislation passed by the North Carolina General Assembly on July 9, 2025, bars NC IOLTA from grantmaking from July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026. Consistent with the legislation, our 2026 funding cycle has not been opened.
NC State Bar Executive Director Peter Bolac provided an update to members of the Bar on Nov. 6, 2025. Details are available here. The NC State Bar and NC IOLTA continue to seek a resolution to preserve funding for civil legal aid, which plays a critical role in building a legal system that works for everyone, breaking down barriers and creating strong communities across North Carolina.